Bag filling and closing machine



G. LoNG TAL BAG FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed June 29, 1936 @u @www www NN NQ T m Nb. N mm.

mmv v Egt z n@ Qm mw. l i w l L. E m J1 n .I @WK mm G. LONG Er AL BAGIILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed June 29, 1956 9 Sheets-sheet 2 W Q SQ,

' 6601' @lo Ela) largezy Oct. 25, 1938.

LONG ET AL BAG FILLINGAND CLOSING MACHINE Filed June 29, 1936 9 Sheets-Sheet,3

Oct. 25, 1938. c. LONG ET Al. 2,134,557

BAG FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed June 29, 1936 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Y Oct; 25, 1938. G. LONG Er AL.

' BAG FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed June 29, 193e 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 S NS I @N @QN mGN 4a W EJ W I w//lfa Geof e Long Fal/@ B. Lam/z,

Oct. 25, 1938. r G. LONG ET AL Y 2,134,567

' BAG' FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed June 29, 1936 9 Sneaks-.sheet e Oct. 25, 1938. G, LQNG Er 'AL 2,134,567

BAG FILLING AN CLOSING MACHINE Y Filed June 29, 1936 6607' @Long Ela/e Blf/amen oct. 25, 193s. G. LONG ET AL 2,134,567

BAG FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Fileid June 29, 1936 Sheets-Sheet 8 muni l RWM. l y

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BLU/7667?,

0d. 25, 1938. n G, LQNG ET AL i 2,134,567Y

BAG FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE i fra/67W@ lllllllfllllg E@ B. L l l @MKM Figure 1 -is.an elevational.

,. Piasare-ly ocr. 2,5, 193s lum'"rsp cago', Ill., assignors,

Franklin Steel Works, tion of Maine Applicativi:"June 29, 1936; Serial zo claims'.

j The invention relates to new and useful im- L.. 4provements in bag filling vand closing machines 'and has particulan reference tomechanism for filling a bag, collapsing the top of the filled bag, 'i and folding the collapsed top, the several operations being performed at a plurality of stations. An object ofthe invention is to provide in a i bag lling and closing machine improved conveyor mechanism for' intermittently moving an l open bag from station to'stat'ion throughout a plurality of stations comprising the machine; to I provide novel collapsing mechanism for tucking in the side walls and ,for bringing the front `and "rear walls together to collapse the upper portion l5 of the bag; and to provide mechanism of improved construction for folding the collapsed upper portion of the bag to close and substantially seal the same, preventing leakage of thecontentsof the bag.

. Another object of the invention is to provide a bag filling and closing machine which will automatically locate an open bag in an intermittentlymoving holderilxed to an endless conveyor, which will locate the `bag under a filling hopper, bring the bag into association'with/collapsing mechanism, and subsequently folding, creasing i and pressing mechanisms, whereby the bag is de- Y hvered from the machine with the upper portion 4 folded in a plurality of secure folds and which are 30 in 11st Contact with the top of the'fbag. A yfurther object is to provide bag closing instrumentalities which will fsuccessively fold,A v crease the fold, fold again and crease, and lastly pressthe folded portionvaty into contact with thetopofthebag.- 1

Another object is to provide elevating structure for vertically positioning the bags when located under the folding and creasing Lmechanisms in order" to locate the upper collapsed portion thereof in proper relationv with respect to said mechanisms.

With these and various otherobjects in view, the' invention gmay consist -of certain `novelsfeatures of construction andN operationas will be more fully described and particularlylpointed out 'in the. specification, drawings and""'clai` ms apv pended hereto.

In .the drawings which illustrate an embodiment ofthe invention and wherein like reference I characters are used to designate like partsview of the bag'll- Ying and closing .machine forming the subject --matt lof the present invention: showing ^the front-side where the *bags are opened, llegl and v .z,1:i4,5'z r AND oLosING MACHINE George mag, Joliet, and mwen the folded upper portion PATENT- or- Ftca Larsen, om

by mesne' assignments, :to

Joliet, Ill., a corpora- (o1. `sassii closed by bringing the upper and rearwalls together; v

Figure 2'is an'elevational view of the bag fllling and closing machine ofFigure 1, showing the exit sideof the machine where the bags are folded,sealed and discharged from the conveyor;

y.Figure 3 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the supporting platform for the bags and indicating .the various stations at whichthe various operations take place;

Figure 4 is a front elevational view showing the elevating structure for adjusting the heights of the bags; y I

Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing in detail the collapsing mechanism and the means-for operating rthefsame;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view 'taken substantially along line 6-6 of Figure 5 and showing in detail the fingers for tucking in the side walls of the bag;

' Figure 'I is a fragmen ary vertical sectional view showing in detail the` mechanism for foldportion of. the front ving the collapsed upper portion of the bag;

IFigure 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view similar to Figure .'7 but showing the folding mechanism in one position of operation;

Figure 9 isa fragmentary vertical sectional view similar to Figure 1, showing the folding mechanismin another position of operation;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing in detail the creasing mechanism; f

Figure 11 is a view ing the creasing mechanism in the act of creasing of thebag;

Figure 12 is a perspective view showing an of the type adapted to= be closed by open bag the present machine;

Figure 13 shows perspective views of the bag of Figure 12 after the samehas been illed, and with the upper p ortion thereof collapsed and 'folded, respectively;

Figure 14 shows views similar to Figure/,13 showing the upper collapsedportion ofthe bag folded in a dierent manner;

Figure v15 is a side elevational view showing in detail mechanism .for pressing the/folded por- 7tion'of the bag fiat against the top of the bag;

Figure l6 is a view taken substantially along line lBK-ivof Figure l5;

Figure 171s' afragmentary, vertical sectional view of the pressing plate and lmeans for operating the same; Y

Figure v18 .is atop plan view showing the. pre- Aferre'd form of. gluing mechanism; 1i-'P Figure 19 is a, side elevational view of the same;

similar to Figure 10 show- Figure is an elevational view of the same looking in the direction of travel of the bag through the mechanism;

Figure 21 is a front elevational View showing mechanism for lifting the bag; and

Figure 22 is a side elevational view of the mechanism illustrating the location of the same with respect to the spaced rails.

The present invention contemplates a bag ll'- ing and closing machine which will include means for opening `paper bags, similar to that shown in Figure 12, means for lling said bags, mech` anism for collapsing the upper portion thereof byv tucking inwardly the side walls and Asimultaneously bringing the front and rear walls together, folding means for folding the collapsed upper portion a plurality of times, and means for creasing each fold immediately after the respective folding operation. When the machine is using bags providedv with vertical stays or metal strips in thev upper portion thereof, the folding and creasing operations substantially close the bag, with the exception of the last operation, which presses the folded portion into flat contact with'the top .of the bag. In the packaging of certainv materials it is necessary to completely seal the folded portion of the bag by gluing said portion to the body thereof, and novel mechanism is likewise provided bythe invention for emclently performing this function.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawingawhich disclose-the preferred embodiment of the present invention. numeral I0 indicates thle horizontal support fo'r the bags, which is of substantially elliptical`shape, the bags being intermittently propelledby an endless conveyor il to which is fixed the holders I2. support is suitably fastened. to uprights I3, I4 and l5, which rest on the foundation for the ma-` chine. The driving means for driving the endless conveyor Il, and actuating the various mecha anisms. consists of an electric motor I6, Figure 2,

having xed -to its rotor shaft a.v pinion vover which passes the.endless chain I'l for rotating the shaft I8, suitably .housing 20, Shaft I8 may be rotated by hand, independently of the motor-through operation of the hand wheel 2|. Within the. housing 20 are located the transmission gears for operatively connecting. the driving shaft I8 with the' operating shaft 22, said operating shaft being connected to the transmission by the clutch. india plurality of cams 26, 21, 28 and.- 29. As will be more particularly described, camal and 2factuate tha c for folding inwardly the side walls of the bag and for bringing the. front and rearwalls. together. and cams 23 and 23 actuate the folding mechanisms' and At the opposite end of the support there is provided a stub shaft 32 for supporting a sprocket overwhich the conyeyor chain likewise passes.

l. The numeral- 34 designates the supporting frame for the bag opening mechanism, which essentially consists of. vertically reciprocating iingers 35 also having Pivotal" movement onv vertical axes. Bald lingers' remove a coltlapsecl'bagv from operation of said fingers.

`terial, sucl'i as bean or -the -4I,Figures 1. and 3, located inthe support Journalled by the Vgear a' bag chute 36 lwhich is supported by member 31 suitably secured to upright l5 and said fingers open the bag, simultaneously locating the same within one of the holders i2', positioned in alignment with the bag chute 36 during the opening The'plunger 38 descends within the opened bag and holds the same against the support il to permit removal of the bag opening fingers. Inasmuch as the bagopening mechanism forms no part of the present inventiononly sufilcient portions thereof have been herein illustrated to I to be understood, and, accordingly, further description is believed unnecessary.

The conveyor Il remains stationary while the collapsed bag is being removed from the chute 36, opened and located within'a holder I2, but

same is located under i filling hopper 4I which fills the open bag with the proper weight of mailour, etc.

Referring to Figure 3, it will be observed that enable the present invention ground coffee, sugar,

the bag opening station'is indicated by A and bag filling station by B. I Continued step by step movenent of the conveyorpropels the bag through a plurality of stations indicated by C, during which movement the bags are brought into. contact with vibrating means for shaking and compacting the material in the bag. Said mechanism consists of a longitudinal' memb: and extending for the greater portion ofv the length of one side of said support. At several' places throughout its length the support is formed Withn` depending lug 42 which pivotallq connects with a collar 43 actuated by the eccentric 44 'fixed to shaft 45. Said shaft is rotated bythe vertical shaft 48 through meshing gears 41. on the shafts, respectively. A driving shaft 4a journalled in bearings 49: extends longitudinally of the machine in the vicinity oithe base thereof and operatively gears 50 with shaft 46. The -driving shaft is. in turn rotated through the. chain 5i tively connects the shaft with I8V driven by the motor I6. Immediately upon starting upthe connects throughbevel which operathe shaker 4J which has the the material inthe lled bags being propelled. fram the filling effect of settling while they are station B to the next station D Figure 3, where the upper portion'of the bags are collapsed in. a. manner which y will now be. described.A y

The upper framework of. the. present machine consists of a plurality of channel-shaped members 52 arranged in pairs, facing each other, as better shown in Figure 5. outside framework of the machine and rest 0n the upper ends of the uprights I3, I4 and i5. Other of the machine, transverse beams I3. 4 shown in Figure 5, actuate the belly cranks I4 and El, respectively, one end of each bell crank carry-l Certain pairs form. the` pairs oi' channel-shaped members run centrally being suitably SupDOIted by the' The-cams 26v and 21,'as u ing a roller 58 riding within a cam race l1' formed' in the cam. supported by shaft Joined to links l0 and Cl, respectively. Link il is pivotally connected to lever 32 fixed' to the shaft 33 suitably Journal-led in lbracket W; i Also fixed. to-said shaft is a lever-0l having the'turn- The bell cranks are l'pivotally' Il and atl their other andere 'n buckle Il pivotally secured toitsA outer vend and 76 bell crank 54 is positioned as shown in Figure 5.'

This is the inoperative position of the fingers since when the bell crank is caused to move outwardlyby reason of the high portion of cam- 21 shaft 63.

the connecting linkage will-be actuated to move the turnbuckle 86 downwardly, thereby imparting rotation to shaft 88 in a direction to cause 4 movement of the fingers 12 downwardly. This movement of the fingers takes place when a filled bag is temporarilylocated at station D and thus the side walls of the bag 59, Figure 12, are folded inwardly.

Simultaneously with the above operation of the fingers 12 the member 1.3 is oscillated since said member operatively connects through link 14 with Actuation of member 13 will result in the rearvwall of the bag being forced inwardly toward the vertical center line of the filled bag.

Actuation of bell crank 54' takes place substantially simultaneously with bell crank 55 and ac'- cordingly link 60, connecting with lever 15-oscillates shaft 16, journalled in bearing 11. Also fixed to said shaft is another lever 18 connecting by means of link 80 with a block 8| fixed to the rod 82. Said rod is mounted in spaced ears 83 i integral with the carrier 84, mounted for lhorinism for accomplishing this zontal reciprocating movement within member 85. Block 8| is located between the ears 83 and a coil spring 86. is` confined between said block and one of said ears. The lug 81, projecting from the carrier, has pivotally secured thereto a member 88 similar to 13 and which is caused to pivot in a counter-clockwise direction by movement of the rod 82, the member 88 being heldin contact with the rod by spring 89. bell crank 55 is actuated by cam 28, shaft 16 is oscillated, resultingv in movement of the carrier 84 within the guides provided by member 85. The member 88 is accordingly causedl to contact the front wall ofthe upper portion of the bag. The carrier will `presently strike the stopV 9| and further movement of block 8| will be imparted to the rod. 82, causing pivotal movement of the member 88 to bring the front wall of the bag into contact with the rear wall, whereupon the upper portion of lthe bag is fully collapsed, Figure 13,

vThe collapsed lapsing mechanism and delivered to spaced rails 92, Figure 3, of arcuate form and which extendV around the elliptical end of the support. The spaced rails serve to retain the upper portionv of th bag in collapsed relation and for thepurpose the space vbetween the rails progressively del creases in extent..` The bags leaving station D are momentarily brought to rest at station E and the next intermittent movement of lche conveyqr locates the bags at station E'.

While located at station E the bags are `lifted upwardly by mechanism, Figure 21, actuated from shaft 95' and supported from plates `2|5. Mechafunction includes a lifting'lever 2|8'pivotally supported from beam 52 and having fixed at its outer end the depending flange portion 2|1. Said lever also carries at its outerv end lifting arms 2 I 8 `journalled in the lever by pin 2|9 and having an upward extension 220. A plate 22| connects the arms at their lower ends and is provided with a rubber insert 222. The

When the bag is propelled from the co1-y lever is cammed downwardly,l roller 228 carried 'by arm 224 fixed to one end of shaft 225. Said shaft is journalled by bearings 2|'5 and has fixed to its which is oscillated by an actuating lever 228 fixed to shaft 95. Lever 228 is formed at its lower end with a Uj-shaped recess which receives the roller 229 carriedv by the free end of the arm 221. When arm 224'is in vertical position,-Figure 21, the lever 2|6 assumes its low position, in which position pin 230, projecting from the arm, will engage extension 220 of members 2|8, producing rotation thereof so as to space thel members wit-h respect to flange 2 I1. When the parts are in this position bag 59 is brought to rest at stage E with its collapsed upper portion located between the lifting instrumentalities, i. e. the flange and the members. Oscillation of a'rm 224 rearwardly permits upward movement of lever 2|8 which is biased in this direction by spring 232. -The collapsed l portion of the bag will be rmly held between the flange and lifting members and as a result of the upward movement of the same the upper filled portion of the bag will'v be brought into contact with the rails 92. This will have the. effect of compacting the coffee in the bag and producing a collapsed upper portion of maximum length.

The bags are eventually propelled to station F, having folding mechanism for folding the collapsed upper portion of the bag to produce a 180 degree fold in the collapsed portion. This mechanism will now be described.

The folding mechanism shown in Figures 7, 8 and 9 is actuated by cam 28, having a cam race for receiving roller 93, carried by one end of a 'bell crank 94. The levers of said bell crankare fixed to shaft 95 journalled by bearings 96 supvported by member 91 extending between certain pairs of channel-shaped members 52 forming the framework of the machine, as previously described. Link 98, Figure '1, is joined to the depending lever of the bell crank and through link 99 operatively connects with shaft |00 journalled in bearing I I. Also fixed to said shaft is` an arm |02 and lever |03, the latter pivotally connecting .with member |04. Below shaft |00 bearing |0| journals a companion shaft operatively connected by linkage designated in its entirety by A|08.- Oscillation of therefore be duplicated by shaft |05, which has fixed thereto arm |01 connected by means of link |08 with the folding member ||0, fixed to carrier biased in van upward direction by spring ||2 and pivotally supported from means of link ||4.

Actuation of bell crank 95 in a counter-clockwise direction, which occursby reason of the low portion formed of the cam race in cam 28 will oscillate shaft |00 and shaft |05, and result in pivotal movement of the folding member I0 from an inoperative position, as shown in Figure '7, to an operative position, shown `the folding member and` carrier are positioned substantially vertically. The bag 59, positioned at the folding station F, has its collapsed upper portion 19 located in contact with and along one side of guide member ||5. Said member is located to that side of the collapsed upper portion of the bag opposite the folding member ||0 when the same is in inoperative position, as shown-in Figure '1. Said folding member has a short and a long extension and when the same is caused to pivot as above described, the short extension just clears the guide member which results in bending the projecting section toward the left,

FigurerZl, by a other end an arm 2214 |05, said shafts beingv shaft |00 will v bearing ||3 by` if Figure 8, producing a 90 degree fold in the col- Continued actuation of the bell |00 to bring the arm by the resilient spring |22 and the folded upper is held by said presser plate guide member H5. f

ing the fold.

connected by member |21 with the toggle links |28 pivotally joined at |25 to arms |39. Said arms are pivotally connected by the pin |3| and extend below said pin to form creasing members" |32. The bag 59 having a 180 in the collapsed upper Referring again to Figure 8; station H consists of another folding mechanism substantially idenalong a line substantially mid-way of the rst fold. The folding mechanism at station H'is actuated by cam 28 from the counter-shaft 95, Flgi the mechanisms at stations F and H in unison and at the same speed. J, Figure 3, creasing the rear side .of the j provided at its entering end with a separable part |1| at spaced hich comprises creasing mechanism for creas- 4 will at all times be elevatedl above plate mechanism is provided similar in all respects to which forms a shaft 58, Figure 1.

In summing up the above operations, it will be understood that the bag a. second degree fold is formed at station H, which fold is likewise creased at station J, the

folding mechanisms at stations F and H being' similar in construction and operation and likewise the creasing mechanisms at stations G and J.

The folding and creasing mechanisms are in pensate for the .reduced height of the bag. This includes elevatingstructure which is further desirable in that the height of the bag can be adjusted to suit the folding and creasingl As shown in Figure 4, lift plates |10 and |1I- extend longitudinally of the platform at machine. Lift plate |10 is will be seen that actuation of any bell crank by handle |8| will be transmitted to all. By reason of the greater throw of bell cranks |18 propelled along the platform and are eventually positioned on lift plate |10, which has been verl tically adjusted to properly position the upper end of the bag with respect to therst folding and plate will be automatically raised above nu to compensate for the reduced height ofl the bag at this stage in the folding operations.. Plate 1| be described.

When the bag leaves section has been rfolded the folded portion extends vertically upward is therefore located atstation K, Figure 3, and isactuated from shaft 22 having the cams for effecting operation of the folding and creasing mechanisms as above described. This pressing' mechanism is peculiar to avmachine operating on bags provided with vertical metal stays ory strips in the upper portion thereof, since when these strips are omitted from the bag it is necessary to seal the same by gluing the folded portion.V Structure for applying-glue to the fold of the bag is shown in -Figures 18, 19 and 20.

Referring to Figures l5, 16 andl'1, shaft 22 is provided with three cams |35, |36 and |31, having rollers engaging their periphery for actuating the levers |38, |39 and |58, which are suitably journalled by shaft |40. pivotally connected link |4|, which is connected by link |42, with shaft |43, journalled in member |44, there being fixed to said shaft a finger |45. Lever |39 is connected `by link |46 with lever |41, which is fixed to a shaft |48. Actuation of said shaft imparts movement to lever |50 projecting above and below the shaft and pivotally connecting at its lower end with member 40 thenv caused to oscillate from is imparted to the f 'rest at station Kt'ne derstood from the structure above .ness and other characteristics buckle |60 adapted 4folded portion into contact with a shoe |61, suitably vthe bag is brought to rest at station which is yieldingly supported at its rear by links |52, joined to the member by a pin and slot connection, the parts being held as shown in Figure 16 by coil spring |53. The coil spring |54 is anchored at one end and connects at its other end with the upper end of lever |50 to thereby bias said lever in a direction to retain the roller of lever |39 in contact with its respective cam |36. Member .|5| carries at its outer end a`roller |55 which is oscillated Iin a substantially horizontal plane by the cam |36 through the connecting linkage described.

As the bag 59, having an upstanding folded portion |56, is about to leave station H the roller |55 and the linger |45 will be in separated position. With movement ofthe bag the roller is right to left and upward pivotal movement finger |45 so that the combined effect of the roller and finger is to engage and bend the folded portion |56 diagonally from said bag is moving yto station K. It will be undescribed thatl the roller |55, during movement towardI the bag, will roll the folded portion downinto contact with finger |45 and variations in the thickof the folded porcare of by the fact that the |5| -is yieldingly` connected tion |56 are taken rear of the membe to link |52. i

Cam. |31 actuates the bell crank |58 having pivotal movement on shaft |40.4 The lower end of the bell crank is pivotally joined to theturnto actuate a lever |6| pivotally supported at |62. 'Link |63 connects the lever with a cross head '|64 mounted for vertical reciprocating' movement on the vertical rods |65. Said cross plate |66 which lower. surface with a longitudinal groove to receive the folded portion of the bag.

The bag travels from left to right, Figure 15,l and before the` same is momentarily. brought to folded portion is bent over bythe linger and roller as described. Further movement of the bag 'will bring the bent-over depending fixed to the cross head |64. As a result the bent-over-'folded portion is forced into at contact. with the top of the bag. When K it is lorelation'it is necessary to To lever |38 is y at station- K.

the vertical as downward movement of the cross head |64 presently occurs to bring the presser plate |66'against the folded portion, pressing the same firmly aaginst the top of the bag. Subsequently the presser plate is lifted and movement of the conveyor will propel the bag from station K to the next succeeding Vstations and presently to station L, Where the bag is discharged from the machine.

When the present machine is operated on bags which are not provided with vertical stays for retaining the folded portion of the bag in folded glue the folded portion to the body of -the bag. Gluing mechanism is therefore substituted for the structure just described for bending' over the folded portion and pressing the same into flat contactwith the top of the bag. The gluing mechanism is located Referring to'Figures 18, 19 and 20, wherein a preferred form of gluing mechanism is disclosed,

numeral |82 indicates an open con-tainer providing a reservoir for the glue and which is securely held to a base plate |83 by threaded members |84. The overhead supporting structure indi.- cated in itsentirety by numeral |05 provides a bearing |86 journalling shaft |81, to which is fixed at one end `bevel-gear |88 and at its lower end the roller |90, located within the reservoir and disposed at an angle to the` horizontal. The overhead supporting structure |85 also provides a bearing |9| for jourlnalling shaft |92 having bevel gear |93 at one end thereof meshing with gear |88 and a 'simlar bevel gear |94 at its opposite end. Also xed to the end adjacent gear |94 is a pinion |95 meshing with similar pinion |96 fixed to the driving shaft |91. Said driving shaft is suitably journalled in bearings |98 and is operatively connected witha source of power by the disposed shaft 202 The lower end of gear fixed to a vertically shaft 202 is provided with a'wheel 204 having a has contact with Y The rotations of shaft 202 are-imparted to a companionvertical shaft 205 journalled by bearing 206 through the meshing gears 201. Fixed to the` lower end of shaft 205 is another w eel 208 having a'bevelled periphery.

y The o erhead supporting structure |85 includes the horizontally extending bearing support 209, which provides the bearings 203 and 206. To this arm is suitably fixed a depending lug 2|0 spaced from the periphery of the bevelled wheel 208 a distance to permit the folded portion |56 of the bag through,l as-will be evident from Figure 20. lfrom the driving shaft |91 is transmitted to shaft |92 through gears |96 and |95. From shaft |92 power is transmitted to shaft |81 to cause rotation of the reservoir roller |90 which therefore picks up the glue from the reservoir and transfers the same to the bevelled periphery of wheel 204 which likewise is driven from shaft |92. Since wheels 204 and 208 are operatively connected by the meshing gears 201, the

latter wheel will have positive rotation and the to. Movement of the bags by the conveyor will bring a bag between whee1208 and the depending lug 2|0 and since the space between these parts just accommodates the folded portion of the bag,

'said portion will be positively engaged by the bevel wheel 208. Therefore the glue on the bevelled periphery of said wheel will be applied to the creaslng means.

3. Ina bag' closing machine, the combination 4. In a bag closing machine, the combination of an Aendless conveyor for intermittently pro- 5. In a bag closing machine, a substantially horlzontal support forthe bags, an endless conbag closing machine, a substantially bags, an endless conmeans collapsing one end of the elliptical con- 'veyor of elliptical forml for intermittently prothe bags.

mittently propelling the b peiling the bags, spaced members at means collapsing said bags, one end of the elliptical conengagement with the top of the bag.`

9. In a bag filling and closing machine, the

combination 0f an endless conveyor for interrection.

10. In a bag lling and closing machine, the combination of anv then another 90 folding member in a downward direction.

11. In a bag combination of tion for collapsing .the upper portionoflthe bags after filling thereof, means at another'station for I folding said collapsed portion including afolding member having pivoting movement and bodily movement in a substantially vertical plane, said member forming a 180 fold in said collapsedportion, and a presser plate at said folding station for pressing said fold after the folding vmember has been retracted.

14. In a bag filling and closing machine, the combination of an endless -conveyor for intermittently propelling the bags, means for collaps-l ing the upper portion of the bags after lling thereof.- means for folding said collapsed portion including a folding member having pivoting movement and bodily movement in a sulostantialr ly vertical plane, a guide member associated with said folding member, said folding member bendthe guide upon pivotal movement thereof to produce a 90 fold, and further'bending the same upon bodily downward movement to form a 180 fold, and a presser plate pressing said fold'against the guide after the folding member has been retracted.

15. In a bag filling and closing machine, the combination of an endless conveyor for intermittently propelling the bags, means for collapsing theupper portion of the bags after filling thereof, means for folding said collapsed portion including a folding member having pivotal movement and bodily movement in a substantially vertical plane,.a guide member' associated with said folding member, said folding member bendingthe collapsed upper portion of the bag over the guide to form a 180.- fold,V and a presser plate pressing said fold against the guide after the folding member has been retracted,`said presser plate being actuated by the same means actuating the folding member.

16. In a bag filling and closing machine, the i combination of an endless conveyor for intermittently propelling move from station to stationthroughout the machine, means at one station for collapsing-the upper portion of the bag, means at a subsequent station for folding located at the next station for creasing the ifold, and means for forming a second fold in the'col- 50 lapsed portion of the bag. the means for forming v combination of an ing the collapsed upper portion of the bag over creasing said fold,

the bags, whereby said bags the collapsed portion, means -1 the second fold being located ata different station but being identical in construction to the means for tforming the first mentioned fold.

17. In a bag filling and closing machine,.the combination of an 'intermittently moving con. 5 veyor for propelling the bags, means for folding the upper portion of the bags after lling there'- of,v means-including pivoted fingers and a bodily movable roller for momentarily engaging the. folded portion to bend the same into an angular positionfrom the vertical, and other means vfor pressing the bent folded portion into flat contact with the top of the bag. v

v18. In a bag filling and closing machine, the intermittently moving con veyor for propelling the bags, means for folding the upper portion of the bags after lling there- 4 of, means including pivoted fingers and a bodily movable roller `for momentarily engaging the folded'portion to b end the same linto an angular position from the vertical, and a vertically reciprocating pressing member for pressing the bent folded 4portion intoflat contact with the top of the bag. f

19. In. a bag filling and 'closing machine, the combination of an intermittently moving conveyor for propelling the bags, means for folding the upper'portion of the bags after filling thereof, l means including pivoted ngers and a bodily movable roller for momentarily engaging the folded portion to bend the same into an angular position from the vertical, and a vertically reciprocating pressing member for yieldingly pressing the bent folded portion into flat contact with the top of the bag. j l

20. In a bag closing machine, thecombination of an endless conveyor for intermittently prol pelling the bags, means for forming a degree fold in the upper portion of the bag, means for means for forming a second 180 degree fold in the `upper portion of the bag, said operations occurring in successionwhile said bags remain at rest, and elevating means for positioning thev bags with respect to said .second mentioned folding means to compensate for the decreased height of said bag as a result of the first fold in the upper portion thereof. f

GEORGE LONG. 

